Can Chatbots Staff Your Call Center?

Earlier this month, state technology leaders gathered in Baltimore at the NASCIO Midyear Conference. Government Technology spoke with several state CIOs to get their thoughts on the potential cognitive computing might hold for government. Georgia Chief Technology Officer Steve Nichols says intelligent software may one day help the state provide more responsive citizen services. Chatbots could be used in state call centers, for example, to serve as virtual customer service representatives, where they would use learned responses to field routine questions.

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Steve Towns is the former editor of Government Technology, and former executive editor for e.Republic Inc., publisher of GOVERNING, Government Technology, Public CIO and Emergency Management magazines. He has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at newspapers and magazines, including more than 15 years of covering technology in the state and local government market. Steve now serves as the Deputy Chief Content Officer for e.Republic.

Government Technology editor Noelle Knell has more than 15 years of writing and editing experience, covering public projects, transportation, business and technology. A California native, she has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history. She can be reached via email and on Twitter.